Have you eaten?

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Our eating itinerary was pretty much decided by my dear husband. We solicited opinions from food-loving friends in Singapore and Hong Kong, kind friends like Josh and M made reservations and pre-ordered dishes that they felt we should try, and dear husband made an Excel plan of our day-to-day meals. The only condition I insisted on was that we should go eat the Kimberley Pig- as unanimously recommended by the Hong Kong food blogging community.

We made our way to the Kimberley Hotel on Kimberley Road in the early evening. Most of us had already eaten quite a lot throughout the day- lip-smacking cha siew, two big plates of it actually, delicious polo buns with extra butter etc etc, so we were only able to eat some pig and not much else. The pig was ordered on our behalf by Josh and we had made a deposit for it the day before. While waiting, we chewed on some green vegetables and sipped some soup.

Finally, the waiter pushed a trolley with a roasted suckling pig towards our table. A beautiful little piglet, with shiny crackly skin. Other diners turned around to stare and admire. We photographed the pig from many angles. The waiter took out his cleaver and cut the piglet up into generous slices.

What they did was to stuff the inside of the piglet with glutinous rice. The rice, already fragrant with shallots and garlic, readily absorbed any meat juices from the roasting meat. The crackling was just marvelous, crunchy all the way through, very addictive. It is outrageously unhealthy, this basic combination of crunchy savoury(baby) pig skin, pig fats and sweet chewy aromatic rice, but so very delicious. Dashes of sweet bean sauce and English mustard cut through the richness somewhat, and if I wasn't already so full I could have eaten more. The leftovers were still pretty yummy even after a day or two.

Full as we were, we still placed an order for their Ma Lai Kou, because I love this traditional cake. The Kimberley Restaurant does it right- not too dense, not too airy, just the texture I prefer, with just the right sweetness. No leftovers either...

Monday, November 14, 2011

Yung Kee is a Hong Kong institution. Singaporeans eat there enthusiatically and even cart home boxes of their famous roast goose. My first visit was, gosh, nearly 20 years ago. Other than roast goose, I remember a relatively light and clean tasting dish of beef brisket stewed in clear soup that husband ordered once, and which he really enjoyed reminiscing about every time we bring up the topic of Yung Kee.

The reason for our appointment though, was still centred around goose. Virgin goose. Have you heard of such a thing? Me neither, not until a month or so ago, when friends from Hong Kong and France visited Singapore and we were intently discussing our food options. Virgin goose is not usually found in the menu, it has to be ordered in advance. M, was very kind to help us make reservations and ordered some dishes which she thought we would like.

The virgin goose (half-bird) arrived. I wasn't expecting anything really, but was still not prepared for such a wet-looking presentation. The skin was still crispy and the meat a lot more tender than its (more sexually aware?) siblings, making it very easy for the child to eat. What I really enjoyed was the stuffing served alongside, full of braised onions and wood ear mushrooms. If this dish was ordered on its own, it would have more chance to shine. However, attention quickly turned to other items.

Tea leaves-smoked pork looked a bit dry and it was, in the lean meat layers. The skin was beautifully gelatinous and soft without being cloying. A dish to be paired with wines and slowly enjoyed.

The latest food trend seems to be sea cucumber intestine. This is stirfried with salt and pepper, and garnered many novelty points for its curly appearance and bouncy textures.

Crab roe and eggs sounded a bit much on paper but all thoughts of restraint flew out of the windows when we had our first taste. Egg white custard is steamed to quivery done-ness and then layered with a a crab roe sauce packed with the insanely delicious delicacy. We were lucky, this is a seasonal dish; at other times of the year, they substitute the crab roe with a sauce made with dried little shrimps... just on that thought I polished the plate clean. Thank you M!

Monday, November 07, 2011

The second part of our holiday was mostly occupied by eating, and, well, maybe a little bit of shopping. CW and I have done the sights before, this time we just wanted to relax. Andrew, our makanguru friend, and his lovely wife HL, also timed their trip to sync with us and together the five of us enjoyed some truly memorable meals.

We met up for our first meal at the very old-school Spring Deer restaurant on 42, Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. The easiest way of getting there is to take the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui and walk through the interconnected passageway to East Tsim Tsui station exit P3. The restaurant is about 2 minutes walk away, on the second floor above a dingy shop selling tourist tat.

It was not my first visit. An old friend's mother invited me to their Chinese New Year gathering many years before, when I was doing my elective in Hong Kong. I introduced CW to this place when we visited Hong Kong nearly 8 years ago, we ate very well but we were only two people so could not try some of their dishes which came in generous portions. Therefore husband was determined to make good of this opportunity and eat all the good things we saw being served to other diners. Andrew did the ordering. We caught up on our separate adventures.

First course. Kai Pow Chi. A dish I have only heard of through watching old TVB serials. It means chicken wrapped with sharks fin, and comes in a wicked chicken broth. This was a half-chicken portion. It can feed six to seven people easily.

The close up. Proper combs of quality sharks fin. Beautifully cooked so that the fins have absorbed the flavours of the broth, the broth was just as satisfying, you can taste chicken clearly but it also has body and depth from other enriching ingredients, just wonderful. It's a dish I think every foodlover should eat at least once in their life, and then they will begin to understand the Chinese obssession with this controversial ingredient.

Peking duck, served in traditional style, i.e. sliced thickly to include some meat in each slice.

The duck was delicious, it tastes of duck instead of the bland muscle we have been brainwashed into eating nowadays. The pancakes were a bit heavy, and missing that sweet elastic chewiness I enjoyed in a Peking Duck restaurant in Beijing. Andrew joked about eating Donald. Days later, V reminisced about eating Donald in Hong Kong.....she really gets it, I think!

Basically everybody orders more or less the same dishes, their hit parade. Like these sesame bread pockets to stuff with beef jerky. Initially I dismissed them as being too sweet, but they grew upon me; as we chewed, the spices and marinade of the beef released their flavours. The meat remained quite meaty, a very nice change from the usual beef treatment which is to tenderise the hell out of it.

What a mess. A super-duper delicious mess. It is tofu braised in crab roe. A very superior comfort dish, to be spooned over plain steamed rice.This was my favourite dish of the night.

There was another dish we didn't order, it that appeared in every other table - a whole fish served on a hotplate. It looked amazing, we must return to try it.

Dessert of egg-white doughnuts dusted in sugar. It comes in a serving of 10 pieces. Husband and I were lucky to have a neighbouring table share an order with us when we came here last time, this time we had the whole plate to our table. It was magnificient, the inside has fillings of not just red bean paste, but fresh banana.

It was a fantastic meal, we all agreed, as we waddled out into the warm night air of Kowloon. We walked home to our service residence in Yau Ma Tei, motivating the child with the purchase of a pair of shoes along the way, thinking of the meals we have yet to eat...

Friday, November 04, 2011

The child was very excited about our trip to Hong Kong. On a normal morning we usually have a hard time waking her- lots of pushing and protesting, and some days she actually misses the school bus. On this day however, she got up at 5.30 a.m and was the first to finish dressing before us. Here we see her skipping and flying into the plane.

Asian air travel is reliable. We arrived in Hong Kong just before lunchtime, checked into the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, which has a bland cheesy decor that nevertheless thrill young children and impressionable adults, but redeems somewhat with double beds in the rooms, complete with duvets and non-saggy mattresses. Lunch at the hotel Chinese restaurant Crystal Lotus was quite forgettable, it coasts on its menu of kid-friendly dishes i.e. give them Disney character-shaped foods. Most tasted average at best,but V happily ate them up. They simply don't find it morbid to be eating their favourite characters, very bizarre.

Food at Disney universe, whether it was at the hotel or the park, is quite dreadful. However, the hotel breakfast buffet spread is decent enough. The whole point of this breakfast is that Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Goofy will be in character for a solid hour (9-10 a.m.), going from table to table and letting everybody take as many pictures as they like. This can mean a lot of posing and clicking, especially at tables occupied by thirty-something Japanese women in full Disney fan-mode, holding Mickey plushies and squealing too many times 'kawai'.. I reminded myself to chill and asked the waiter for another cup of tea.

We bought a two day pass for Disneyland park. It was a good idea to go first on a Sunday night, the park closes at 11 pm and the crowd was relatively light. The park is not as small as we had presumed, and laid out like the one in Paris so we could zoom in on all of 's favourite rides. Don't forget to top up the experience with a ride on the MTR line to Sunny Bay, the train is Mickey-fitted and the child couldn't be more thrilled.